Misunderstanding
by moonlight.soul.FIRE
Summary: "I wish he would just admit his feelings for her." Lucy and Happy do not realize that they are talking about two entirely different things.


_**Disclaimer**_: I, on my honor, swear that I do not own Fairy Tail.

_**Summary: **__Lucy and Happy do not realize that they are talking about two entirely different things._

_..._

"Ugh, that Natsu is disgusting! As if I would let him any further into my house without a shower!"

Lucy stomped into her bedroom with fists curled and blonde eyebrows furrowing in anger. They had just came back from an especially dangerous—not to mention dirty—mission: they had to help a small village clean the polluted debris from their oversized lake and transfered their heap of trash to the next town over where they could properly rid of it.

It all would have been a cinch if Aquarius had decided to assist them that day, but unfortunately the moody, scaly fish-woman was off with her beau, Scorpio and nearly tore the blonde's head off for daring to summon her.

So they had to do everything by hand, with only Taurus willing to get dirty in effort to ogle his key wielder's 'nice body.'

Needless to say, by the end of their mission, they were _filthy_.

But that was just the dirty part, the dangerous came when they were trying to have a peaceful venture back home, only to be greeted with what looked like a thousand assassins bent on carrying their decapitated heads back to their native village.

The entire thing was a misunderstanding, and Lucy reluctantly admitted that she was far too desensitized to the situation of misunderstandings. She had suffered through numerous rumors of Natsu and her having intimate relations after he blatantly told the ENTIRE NOSY GUILD that he slept in her bed the night prior and was rudely awaken by Lucy whipping him until he left.

So when the mollified assassins showed them the picture of two individuals—unsurprisingly one with garish pink hair and the other an attractive blonde—Lucy was not offended or even frustrated by their error.

She just wanted to go home.

They both were not only caked in dirt, but due to their assassins' blunder they were covered in minor lacerations, and if they didn't return to Fairy Tail soon to replenish their health, they surely would have dropped dead right then and there.

So they went home.

Lucy was a bit peeved when Natsu didn't part from her side as she waltzed up to her apartment, dripping mud and blood and all. When she so curtly asked him why he was not going to his home he replied in that same dense manner that Natsu was so famous for.

"What are you talking about, I can't stay here?" His face was so innocent that it was almost sinful that so many bruises and cuts marred it.

Lucy huffed and unlocked her door, Happy bursting between them before she even fully opened it. Unsurprisingly, he flew into the kitchen and received a fish from her pantry. Lucy turned a sickly blue, as she had no recollection of ever buying fish or stowing such items in her pantry. She watched Happy settle into a comfortable ball holding his prize on the floor, and sighed with her head hung low.

"I guess I have no choice," she murmured. Natsu giddily ran inside and spun to sit on Lucy's large, cushy couch, but stopped mid squat as the blonde uttered a snarl so feral that it would have sent Midnight into a corner.

"DO NOT," she ordered, pointing to her beautiful, clean, untainted furniture set. She redirected her shaky arm to the bathroom and proceeded to calm herself with a few jagged breaths. Finally she took one deep inhale through her nose—wincing at the terrible odor they were both emitting—and said in the most civil tone she could muster,

"Take. A. Shower."

She had had enough of Natsu coming over sweaty and smelly after missions or training, leaving his unwanted scent lingering in her apartment; and now they were both dirty and bloody. She would be damned if he even think about take a frivolous step further through her home without washing the grime off his body.

When he just hovered dumbfounded, Lucy stomped her foot and fully extended her arm towards the shower. Natsu all at once seemed to grasp the message and sprinted for her bathroom, and the sound of running water soon resonated through the building.

Thus she walked into her room, making sure that she herself did not touch anything unless she had a cleaning cloth in her hand or under her feet. She picked up a romance novel and opened it near the end, skimming the pages before closing it.

It was as story—a love story obviously—of a man who loved a woman so deeply. It seemed like an overdone warrior and princess plot that young girls often read, but the relationship that developed between the man and royal was as riveting as it was frustrating.

"I wish he would just admit his feelings for her."

Happy looked up from his fish, answering confidently.

"Aye sir, he's just really stupid."

"He's just so gallant and brave. She obviously cares for him, she really admires how strong he is."

"It's lo-o-o-o-ove."

"He's always willing to protect her, even if it nearly costs him his own life."

"He can run really fast! Especially when she's falling out of building or in trouble!"

Lucy was so encompassed in her tirade that she failed to notice that there was no instance of the Hero's running speed or the princess falling out a building.

"They are best friends too, they can talk about almost anything together."

"He never shuts up."

"Maybe she should be the one who confesses."

"Aye sir, but she's stupid too."

"She was such a stuck up, spoiled princess, but fell in love with his loyalty towards not only her, but his country."

"You said it, Lucy!"

"Ugh, he should just grab her and kiss her already!"

"Ew, he does that when he sleeps!"

Lucy nearly dropped her book as every muscle in her body contracted. She turned to Happy—who was unperturbed by her baffled expression—and attempted to form coherent words. The blue cat just continued,

"Aye sir, he cuddles his pillow and kisses it, and he's all 'Lu-u-ucy, Lu-u-ucy,' and-"

Happy was cut short when Natsu sent an unnecessary kick to her door and strolled into her room, completely unaware of the situation, and sprawled out on Lucy's bed.

Normally, Lucy was already repulsed by Natsu clad only in a towel taking up the entire confines of her bed, but due to current revelations, she was positivity overwhelmed with horror. Her face traded shades of red and pink as she zipped past the dragon slayer and shut her bathroom door with a deafening 'slam.'

Her heart was beating so fast that it threatened to burst from her heaving chest. She very well could have gone into cardiac arrest if her breathing hadn't slowed as something dawned on her.

Was Happy talking about _Natsu_ the entire time?

_She_ was talking about the handsome and heroic protagonist of her novel's story.

A man who was beyond dutiful in keeping the beautiful princess and his land from harm, boasting scars from his multitude of battles against evildoers. He was so consumed in his devotion towards his country that he could not even realize that he was falling in love with the princess he had saved from a band of heathens.

From then on after that fateful day, he allowed the hearty woman to accompany him on his quests, though she often was a burden for him, as he had to rescue her countless times. But even when she was pressed up against the wall with a knife to her throat, her passion never ceased to amaze the hero. He was drawn to her, like a moth to a flame or something equally as cliché.

As his feelings grew and grew they became more obvious to the entire village, but blind to him as well as the princess. They both could not eloquently express it, but it was clear that one half could not directly live without the other. The hero, once alone and war-hardened, grew fond of the noblewoman's presence, ultimately unable to live without it.

He'd incessantly follow her, perpetually at her side.

He was always warm toward her, and was able to always make her smile.

Occasionally he'd follow her back to her castle, until it became custom that he just stayed at her bedside.

And…

_GODDAMMIT_.

Lucy's nearly exploded from the amount of blood swarming the veins in her face.

Was her entire life really that parallel with her romance novel?!

She dove into her bath, hoping that the hot water would wake her from some terrible dream, or at least burn her alive so that she could escape this predicament she currently found herself in.

Happy had totally misinterpreted her words.

She hated misunderstandings.

She really did.

But then again…

So what if her life was almost a direct mirror of her book? Was it really so bad that Natsu apparently had these feelings for her, that he was sincerely loyal to her, and enjoyed her being in his life—assuming the things Happy was saying were actually true, of course? Was it really so bad that she too might possess…feelings more than simply friendship for him?

The princess had initially been overwhelmed by his gung-ho attitude for fighting, but eventually grew to love his zealous nature, even emanate it herself.

Even with a thousand other men at her side to protect her, she never failed to call out his specific name.

"Natsu," Lucy called from the other side of her bedroom door.

She had thick, fluffy robe wrapped around her with her sopping blonde locks tied in a high bun. She hesitated reaching for the knob. What if he was angry with her, or if he left? She turned green,

What if he were doing _inappropriate_ things on her bed?

She tapped the door with knuckles and uttered softly,

"Natsu?"

The still silence caused her arm to fall a little dejected, but recoiled in astonishment as the door swung open.

Natsu's, luckily clothed, arms shot out from the entrance and squished her cheeks together so that they imitated the fish still locked in Happy's paws. He gave her an impish grin before he crashed his lips on hers with a loud 'smack!' He pulled away from the celestial mage and turned to his blue-furred friend.

"Like that, Happy," he mused eagerly.

"Aye sir!" He gave the dragon slayer an enthusiastic head nod, then turned back to the end of Lucy's romance novel and tapped one of the passages.

"Natsu! Natsu! Now it says you need to 'tear her gown from her willing body-'"

Happy was never given the privilege to finish as Lucy ripped the book from his claws and stared at the book with eyes wider than saucers.

"That's what happens," she screeched loud enough for probably the entire area of Fiore to hear. She furiously flipped the pages before casting it against the farthest wall.

"Finally," she exhaled, "it's about time he confessed to her!" Lucy clutched her fists with determination, though as her passion fizzled she questioned if she talking about the book or-

She turned to find Natsu just standing there. Ignorant like an unassuming brick wall, he just cocked his head before holding his stomach to hold back his haughty laughter.

"You're weird, Lucy!" He snickered and jumped on her bed, ruffling her sheets that were once neatly folded and pristine.

"Can I sleep here, tonight," he asked, though frankly didn't seem to care for any sort of answer as he snuggled under her comforter. She just placed her hands on her hips and ground out an exasperated sigh. Grabbing a few blankets from her closet she made her way for her couch until she felt a strong tug on her bedspread. She turned to meet Natsu's slanted eyes: they were anything but innocent, they were stony, mature, as if they were trying to communicate years of unspoken verses with a simple flicker of color.

Words completely lost from her, Lucy edged towards the bed, letting Natsu's grip lead her towards his side. His eyes wandered down her robe, sternly observing the curves in her nervous body before settling on her thigh. His hand rose and landed on her leg, inching the robe away, immediately Lucy could feel fire hotter than Natsu's dragon flames engulf her face.

No no no, they were too young! What would Fairy Tail think, what would Fiore think, what would her mother think, what would-

Her sudden panic was abruptly cut short as he poked a large—and still profusely bleeding—wound on her thigh, earning a painful howl from the girl. He looked back up with a bright grin and said with frustrating ease,

"You should fix that before you die!" Lucy's red face turned from embarrassed to downright rage.

"Natsu!"

She came back from the bathroom after fixing her cut and changing into pajamas to find that the pink haired dragon slayer was snoring unnaturally loud with her sheets and pillows—if even possible—even more of a disarray. She sighed in defeat and slumped to her couch before settling into a comfortable ball.

She did not awaken as a certain dragon slayer lifted her from her living room furniture and carried her down shadowed halls to her room.

He opened the door with masterful skill, not a single creak emitting from its hinges. In his arms her comforter wrapped most of her body, trailing slightly from her figure like a veil. Her knees curled tighter into the style of embrace he kept her in.

_Bridal_.

It was not apparent if Natsu fully realized his actions: Lucy's pure white sheets, the threshold that he so casually sauntered under, the increasing possessiveness of his grip on her. Whether or not he comprehended what lied underneath, he gently set the girl down back on her own bed, hesitating to move any further.

Quietly, he shuffled over to the book Lucy had violent discarded earlier after turning bright red for reasons unknown to him and picked it up. He held it in the moonlight's waning glow and flipped near the end of the novel before handing it to Happy.

"What am I supposed to do next, Happy," he asked, a little vexed that a cat could read the odd syntax of her novel better than he could. The Exceed swiftly flew up to his shoulder and pawed the pages, flipping a few before mumbling through his fishy mouth guard.

"'The brown of her earthen eyes lightened as he slipped the luminous golden ring on her finger. Jubilantly she cried and slithered her fair arms around his rippling, war-scarred torso.'" He turned his head towards his friend, inadvertently smacking him in the temple with his—now fowl-smelling—fish.

"I think you need to get her a ring, Natsu."

The dragon slayer stood still, as if contemplating something direly important, then instantly, he beamed.

"Let's steal Loke's," he yelled a bit too loudly, causing sheets to shuffle and a small murmur to trickle from Lucy's lips. Happy flew circles in the room before soaring out through the celestial mage's window.

"Aye sir," he cried, creating even more of a ruckus. Natsu chuckled and launched himself from Lucy's bed, apparently disregarding her previously sleeping figure and causing her to fall to the floor with a comedic 'thud.'

It would remain a mystery specifically how Natsu was able to pry off Loke's—rather Leo's—golden ring, as the lion had made no trip to the human world to anyone's knowledge.

They weren't going to ask questions, though.

It was Natsu, after all.

…

**_Author's Note:_**

_Came up with this on a whim one night. So I apologize that it's kind of shaky,_

_And the ending is kind of weird._

_Regardless, I love Natsu's blatant ignorance to things._

_Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Have a nice day/night!_


End file.
